Friday witnessed record high closing for indexes in Shanghai whereas shares in Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai touched lifetime highs during the session. The recent sharp gains indicated that the region remained volatile due to profit taking pressures. Japanese stocks were volatile after three straight days of gains. The Nikkei 225 Average fell 0.3% to 16,785.69. The broader Topix index rose 0.1% to 1,616.62. Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 0.1% at 3,717.42 while India's Sensex rose 0.8% to 17,293.62 to close higher for the ninth straight session.

In afternoon trading, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.4% to 27,158.59, regaining the 27,000-point level after toggling between the day's low at 26,899.48 and a record intraday high at 27,213.10. Tracking gains in Shanghai, the Hang Seng China Enterprises index jumped 1.7% to 16,929.45. However, participants said further gains were likely to be capped by profit-taking pressure. Patrick Shum, strategist at Karl Thomson Securities said "There is likely to be a correction after the holiday week (in China) next week and before the (National) Congress meeting [in mid-October] on fears of further tightening by China after the meeting. There are also hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates in October. Because of these two factors, I think October is going to be a very volatile month."

Chance favors only the prepared mind.